NASCAR Technical Institute Students Help Drive Team Penske Win

When Team Penske driver Joey Logano drove his No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion to victory in Homestead, Fla. on November 18, winning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship, it was a big win for graduates of NASCAR Technical Institute, too. Logano's front-end mechanic and two members of his pit crew graduated from NASCAR Tech and have been working all season to help Team Penske get a checkered flag.

NASCAR Tech, one of 13 Universal Technical Institute campuses nationwide, is the exclusive educational provider for NASCAR and the only school in the country to offer NASCAR-endorsed training.

Team Penske has more than 30 combined victories in the 2018 race season across NASCAR, INDYCAR, IMSA and Australian Supercars and, in the last decade, has hired more than 60 NASCAR Tech graduates - highly trained technicians who hold positions ranging from entry level mechanic to Chief Mechanic.

"Winning races takes more than a driver and a crew chief," said Logano. "It takes a whole team of people to put this all together and, because NASCAR Tech delivers the training race teams are looking for, their graduates are vital to a drivers' success."

"Without a doubt, there's always a demand for good people," said Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske. "NASCAR Tech is where Team Penske turns for the future of the organization. The relationship we have with the school is a special one."

Team Penske is one of many industry leaders that rely on NASCAR Tech to train skilled auto and motorsports technicians.

"Our industry relationships are critical to both our partners' success and to ours," said John Dodson, vice president of Business Alliances & NASCAR for Universal Technical Institute. "We are honored that Team Penske, Roush Yates Engines, and the entire motorsports community comes to NASCAR Tech to build winning teams."

NASCAR Tech's Mooresville, N.C. campus offers the standard Universal Technical Institute core automotive training program, with an optional 15-week elective to train students preparing for a career in motorsports. The 15-week elective trains students in everything from engines, fabrication, and welding, to aerodynamics and pit crew essentials. Through NASCAR Tech's elite Spec Engine program, select students have the opportunity to build engines that will compete in NASCAR-sanctioned races.